I booked flights to Denver for Feb and thought the price was good, better than the last couple of years.  United Airlines.

My only gripe is that if you want any seat except the last row, and you have checked luggage, the price ends up being twice what it looks to be when you are searching.  This has been an issue for many years with airlines but is suddenly way, WAY worse.

I found a direct flight from Dulles to Denver for Feb 4-7 with my preferred times for $237. I check everyday.

Additionally, the family is doing a spring break ski trip to Denver, April 12-18. Has been trending at $600 a ticket but the other day is was $397. I didn't jump at it and missed the deal. However, it is still early and I know it will be back down in the near future.

dclivejazz wrote:

I'm thinking about driving out there instead of flying. Figure it will take 3 days each way. I know it sounds crazy, but I dislike the whole flying scene and especially the rental car pickup nightmare at the Denver airport. I have a 4-wheel drive Subaru Outback originally purchased with this scheme partially in mind. I am retired and can make the time now.  So far I haven't done it--did fly last year to go to Breckenridge--so talk could be cheap and it may never happen. If anybody has done it, let me know how it worked out. 

 Not crazy at all.  I've been driving out to Colorado from NC the last three Decembers.  The destination is Wolf Creek.  In fact, did the drive Dec. 4-7 last week, with a stop in Asheville.  It does make it easier since there isn't as much chance of winter weather during the drive.  It's an advantage that I've been able to make decisions about adding a day or two before the set group meetup with friends.  We share a rental house so the timeframe for that part of the trip is fixed months in advance.  One year a ski buddy drove with me.  We added a couple nights at Winter Park, but only after it was clear that Mary Jane would be open by the time we would get there.

I know someone from DC who started driving for an annual trip to Taos after he retired.

Only worth the drive when the number of days skiing would be more than the number of days driving.  Unless there are friends and/or family to visit along the way in at least one direction.

I owned an Outback from 2013 to 2024, just sold it 2 months ago with 170k miles, many of which involved winter driving from DC area to points west, far west :-) In fact, drove that car to CO, UT and beyond about 8 years out of the 11 I owned it including twice in 2021 and as recently as 2024.  Most of those trips involved staying in the Rockies for several months after I got there, but as far back as 1976 I have driven from DC to CO to ski including numerous times for approximately 10-day trips in '76, '91, '03, '09.  About 30% of those trips were solo, 70% with one or more companions.  Companions that can share driving duties is very helpful.  Recently replaced aging Outback with a new Rav 4 hybrid to save on gas.

I usually make the drive to Denver in two days, it's approx 25 hours drive time.  SLC is approx 34 hrs and I've often headed straight there instead of CO because my son lives there.  For many years I did these trips with regular tires and got away with it.  If you use I70 or better yet, I 64 to 70, the odds of hitting a big storm during a single week or two time span are slim.  But I spend so much time now (entire winters) in the Rockies that I've switched to snow tires for the last several winters.  They do come in very handy during snowy drives.  I should add that it's very freeing to be retired and have your own vehicle on these kind of trips.  You can extend or change your itinerary.  You can bring lots of your own gear and outfit your vehicle for special interests.

Scott wrote an article on winter driving here.

dclivejazz wrote:

I'm thinking about driving out there instead of flying. Figure it will take 3 days each way. I know it sounds crazy, but I dislike the whole flying scene and especially the rental car pickup nightmare at the Denver airport. I have a 4-wheel drive Subaru Outback originally purchased with this scheme partially in mind. I am retired and can make the time now.  So far I haven't done it--did fly last year to go to Breckenridge--so talk could be cheap and it may never happen. If anybody has done it, let me know how it worked out. 

 The only ways around that are:

1) Elite FF status on an airline

2) An airline CC that helps you out with bags and or seats 

3) Southwest Airlines.

Leo wrote:

I booked flights to Denver for Feb and thought the price was good, better than the last couple of years.  United Airlines.

My only gripe is that if you want any seat except the last row, and you have checked luggage, the price ends up being twice what it looks to be when you are searching.  This has been an issue for many years with airlines but is suddenly way, WAY worse.

All that driving.... that is a lot of audiobooks. 

I have scored SWA out of RIC one stop into DEN for 250.  Ski and boots count as one bag on Southwest.  Mostly in late January or February mid-week. If you can swing a Wednesday to Tuesday trip it helps. If you wait till March you will start to run into the spring break crowd. The only drawback is you have to be willing to accept bad flights (first or last flight out...long layover in MDW or ATL). 

A hack I have started using is sleeping in the rental car the first or last night. I hate spending 100 bucks or more for a hotel I only use for a few hours.  If I come in on the last flight, I get my rental car, pull into the Cargo terminal lot, and try to crash for a few hours. No one bugs you in that lot. I normally get a few hours of sleep and then hit 1-70 well before the crowds. Works in reserve too. Full-day skiing, stop at the Indians Springs spa on 1-70 till closing, by then crowds have dissipated on 1-70. Then I drive back to the cargo lot. Take a nap, turn in my car, and make that 0500 flight! Of course, I am doing this solo...so not sure it would work with kids :)

Another hack that does work with kids is the YMCA of the Rockies!  I stayed there last year for around 100 bucks a night for a room with 5 beds! It is just 30 minutes from Winter Park. It is a summer camp but open in the winter. They have a reasonably priced cafe on site. They offer sledding as well as Nordic skiing. Normally they have a big indoor pool as well. Last year the pool was down so I received free vouchers for the Winter Park Rec Center which enabled me to hot tub after skiing every day.

The final hack if you are staying at the YMCA is the cute but serviceable Granby Ranch ski area. It is nearby, super kid-friendly, and well under 100 a day for lifts.  

Recently I have found that the sweet spot to buy southwest flights isn't always the sales, but 6-10 weeks out. I suspect it may have something to do with how they buy fuel and their pricing algorithms. 

Look into some of the non DEN airports as well. The flights may or may not be cheaper, but the experience may be better.

Southwest now has a daily nonstop flight to COS and I think United has a non-stop to steamboat.

COS is about 2 hours 15 mins to breck and 2 hours 30 mins to most of the other summit county resorts. However, if you can get a flight at a good price it may be worth it, and will likely save you time. The rental cars seem to have less taxes (~$10 less per day in some cases), the airport is small so landing, getting bags, and walking to your rental car will be less than 30 mins in most cases. On your return trip security is usually less than 10 minutes and none of the buses and trains at DEN. COS has a very long runway (Peterson SFB uses it) and less traffic then DEN, so flights seem to be less impacted by weather.

If the weather is even halfway decent you can drive over hosier pass, and stop at "the real South Park". From my experience Hosier pass is often easier to drive than the section after the tunnel in light-moderate snow. 

I also saw that Frontier was starting to fly into Eagle/Vail. If you have skis it is probably not worth it, but if you are renting it may be worth looking into. 

If you can get a good price into Aspen and are skiing there you won't need a car at all as the airport is on the free bus line. However, they have a short runway and an interesting approach, so they seem to get weather delays.

The drive from the Springs to Breck takes about the same time as the drive from DIA. The difference is a lot of it is 2 lane highway - not normally a big deal as it does not have much traffic.

The thing to note about driving back to the Springs at night is just before getting there you'll cross Wilkerson Pass - there are LOTS of deer and elk there - beware. I can remember doing the drive and seeing hundreds of eyes reflecting in my headlights.

About Hoosier Pass for those that have not driven it - it has quite a few switchbacks with 10 MPH speed limits - and on a snowy road 10 MPH MEANS 10 MPH. Try to take them at 20 and you'll find yourself in a ditch.

rbrtlav wrote:

 .

COS is about 2 hours 15 mins to breck and 2 hours 30 mins to most of the other summit county resorts. However, if you can get a flight at a good price it may be worth it, and will likely save you time. The rental cars seem to have less taxes (~$10 less per day in some cases), the airport is small so landing, getting bags, and walking to your rental car will be less than 30 mins in most cases. On your return trip security is usually less than 10 minutes and none of the buses and trains at DEN. COS has a very long runway (Peterson SFB uses it) and less traffic then DEN, so flights seem to be less impacted by weather.

If the weather is even halfway decent you can drive over hosier pass, and stop at "the real South Park". From my experience Hosier pass is often easier to drive than the section after the tunnel in light-moderate snow.